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Maya Tolstoy named interim head of Arts and Sciences

Maya Tolstoy named interim head of Arts and Sciences

Courtesy of Columbia University /

Tolstoy previously led the Columbia Senate’s Commission on the Status of Women, which released an extensive pipeline report in 2014 that found that women are more likely to leave the University before beginning the tenure process.

Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor Maya Tolstoy, who also served as chair of the Policy Planning Committee during the 2017-18 academic year, has been appointed as the interim executive vice president of Arts and Sciences, University President Lee Bollinger announced earlier this month.

As interim EVP, Tolstoy will oversee budgetary decisions, academic recruitments, and tenure for the five schools of Arts and Sciences: Columbia College, the School of General Studies, the School of Professional Studies, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the School of the Arts. Her appointment follows the departure of David Madigan, who will remain a faculty member in the statistics department, after he served a five-year term.

Tolstoy also previously led a number of faculty governance groups, including the Columbia Senate’s Commission on the Status of Women, which released an extensive pipeline report in 2014 that found that women are more likely to leave the University before beginning the tenure process. In 2016, Tolstoy was also elected to the PPC, the faculty governance committee of Arts and Sciences, and led an equity study looking into the University’s sexual harassment policies, the by-laws governing salary decisions and chair appointments, and support for faculty childcare during her time as chair.

In his statement to the University, Bollinger referred to Tolstoy as a professor who has “garnered deep respect… for the diplomacy, integrity, and inclusive leadership she exhibits at every turn,” citing her work with faculty governance and task forces for diversity and inclusion.

Bollinger also announced that he is in the process of forming a search committee to find candidates to fill the position, but has not made clear any timeline for confirming Madigan’s official replacement.